Seal-friendly barrier is urged at Children's Pool

San Diego should erect a rope barrier at the Children's Pool beach in La Jolla each year when harbor seals are giving birth and nursing their young.

That was the unanimous recommendation Wednesday from the City Council's four-member Natural Resources and Culture Committee.

Each winter, up to 200 harbor seals congregate at the cove, also known as Casa Beach, situated at the foot of Jenner Street in La Jolla business district.

The committee agreed that a rope barrier is needed to prevent people from disturbing the seals during the pupping season, which generally occurs from Jan. 1 through May 1.

Seal pups are sometimes abandoned when their mothers are spooked into the water.

The committee also asked Council President Scott Peters, whose district includes the Children's Pool beach, to place the issue on the docket for the council's April 17 meeting.

A Sierra Club activist, John Hartley, said the committee should have considered the club's request for a permanent rope barrier because it would provide year-round protection for the seals and reduce confrontations between seal advocates and beach users.

Hartley was one of 18 pro-seal activists attending the hearing. The lone opponent of the rope barrier, Debbie Beacham of La Jolla, said people should have priority over seals to use the cove.

The committee's action was prompted by a request from enforcement officials for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, who urged San Diego to close the beach or install a barrier during pupping season.

Signs urging the public to respect the seals' space “have not prevented actions that could be considered harassment from occurring at the beach, especially during pupping season,” the administration said in a March 21 letter to the city.